Communities and schools are strongly linked — one seldom succeeds if the other fails. Schools need families and communities that are involved in the education of students; communities need schools that serve as centers of neighborhood life.
Cincinnati Public Schools is creating campuses that strengthen this link between schools and communities. These schools, known as Community Learning Centers (CLC), act as hubs for community services, providing access for students and families to health, safety and social services, as well as recreational, educational and cultural opportunities. CPS is garnering national recognition (see pages 37-44) for its work to create these Community Learning Centers districtwide, not just in isolated neighborhoods.
In conjunction with the ten-year, $1 billion Facilities Master Plan, all new and renovated buildings are designed with space for community use that promotes academic excellence and civic opportunities. At Rockdale Academy, for example, the building was designed with space for a large health clinic with a separate entrance for the community after hours.
The goal of Community Learning Centers is to support student achievement, revitalize neighborhoods and maximize the community's return on their financial investment.
Community Learning Centers offer services and programs tailored to each community's individual needs. For example, based on a study of drop-out rates, Oyler School's community found that there was a need to add high school grades. Oyler's community engagement team created the high school, which includes a Boys and Girls Club teen center with support services such as college access counseling. High school graduation and college entrance rates have jumped to all-time highs.
The community engagement process involves a broad cross section of school and community members, and each community develops a shared vision of academic programs, enrichment activities and support services for students, families and community members — before and after school; during the evenings and on weekends; as well as during the school year and summer months.
For example, Winton Hills Academy identified health concerns as a barrier to students' learning. As a result, they now partner with a pharmacy, a primary and oral-health care provider, and a full-time behavioral health clinic to provide services to their students and families.
Each school community uses a grass-roots process to plan and develop its school as a community learning center. The community engagement process is led by the Local School Decision Making Committee (LSDMC) or a designated sub-committee, which includes parents, volunteers, community business leaders, school staff members, non-profit neighborhood groups and community organizations. The committee engages members of the school community in the vision and planning for its community learning center.
Community Learning Centers are proven success stories. Benefits for students include: improved academic performance, higher attendance rates and greater parent involvement. At Winton Hills Academy enrollment is up, discipline incidents are down dramatically, and the building buzzes with after-school and summer programming run by the YMCA. Five therapists and behavioral specialists from St. Aloysius Orphanage work daily in the school. Winton Hills earned national recognition when it was one of seven semifinalists for the 2007 Richard Riley Award for Schools as Centers of Community.
In addition to school gains, the community benefits as well. In the surrounding areas of Pleasant Ridge Montessori, new young families are moving into the neighborhood, property values have increased and there is a heightened sense of community.